Door hardware



J. C. LABRIE DOOR HARDWARE Dec. 22, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed Aug. 9, 1956 4 Ll\ l /24 327% 92 Fig.

IN V EN TOR.

Dec.. 22, 1959 I J. c. LABRIE nooR HARDWARE Filed Aug. 9, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Joseph C. abr/'e INVENTOR.

www Hmm United States Patent "O DOOR HARDWARE Joseph C. Labrie, Miami, Fla.

Application August 9, 1956, Serial No. 603,105

1 Claim. (Cl. 16-105) This invention relates generally to means for mounting rolling or sliding doors. The primary object of the invention is to provide an improved door hanger construction which is practical and superior in its operation, the hanger being usable with various sizes and weights of doors.

A more specic object of the present invention is to provide a hanger for a sliding or rolling door, the hanger having a support plate that is adapted to be secured to the door, this plate being formed with a pocket that has a slot in it accommodating a bolt, there being carried by this bolt at least one body on which a pair of wheels are mounted for rotation, but the invention providing the option of supporting two additional wheels in an arrangement whereby a heavier door may be supported.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a door that is representative of a typical installation of the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of a pair of doors showing how the invention is used in connection with double doors;

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the parts which make up a door hanger that is constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of an overhead track that is used in Figure l;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of an overhead track that is used in the assembly shown in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional View of the hanger that is constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 7 is a bottom plan View of the structure in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an elevational view of a subcombination of the parts shown in Figure 3;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary elevational view of a sliding door hanger of a modified construction; and

Figure l0 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line l0-10 of Figure9.

ln Figure l there is a door 10 which schematically represents any standard type of door that is translatable Such doors are known in the trade as sliding doors, although mounted on a rolling support at their upper ends. The lower surface of door 10 is slidable in a passage 12 having lower guide 14 therein. The lower guide is formed as an upwardly opening channel with mounting ears 16 connected to it. Door 10 is mounted for movement in an overhead track 18 which is formed of a top plate 20 whose edge portions 22 and 24 seat on supports 26 and 28, the latter being a part of the building structure. The track has parallel sides 30 and 32 which depend from the plate 20 and which fit in the passage 34 formed by the structural supports 26 and 28. inwardly extending tracks 36 and 38 are at the lower edges of the sides 30 ICC and 32 of the track 18, and they have upwardly extending beads of approximately semi-circular cross-sectional shape.

For the double doors 42 and 44, the overhead structure 46 and 48 provides a wider passage 50 in which track 52 is fitted (Fig. 5). This track has an upper plate 54 whose edge portions 55 and 56 are mounted on the structures 46 and 48. Sides 58 and 60 depend from plate 54 and form the outer walls for the individual tracks to support the doors 44 and 42. The inner wall 62 is fixed to the plate 54 and is common to the two tracks. Walls 58, 60 and 62 are provided with inwardly extending rails 63, 64, 65 and 66, respectively, each rail being formed with an upwardly extending bead or rib having an approximately semi-circular cross-sectional shape. These beaded rails accommodate the grooved rollers that are to be described subsequently.

The lower surfaces of the doors 42 and 44 are mounted in twin channels 68 and 70 that are anchored to the oor or sill and that provide guides for the doors 42 and 44.

Attention is now invited to Figures 3 and 6 where my door hanger is shown both assembled and unassembled. Hanger 75 consists of a support plate 76 that has a number of apertures 77 in it to accommodate screws or other standard fasteners for attachment to the top of a door, for example, door 10, door 42 or door 44. Typical fasteners 78 are shown in Figure 6. The plate 76 has a laterally opening pocket 80 in which to accommodate bolt 82. This pocket is made of a wall 84 depressed from the general plane of the plate 76 and having supporting walls 86 on three sides of it. The opposite side opens through the lateral edge of plate 76 in order to thereby provide an entrance for the pocket 80. Bolt 88 having head 89 constitutes a hanger member and is adapted to be slid by its shank 88 into the open end of slot 90 in wall 84 of pocket 80. Spring 92 is concentrically arranged on bolt 88 as is washer 93, the spring 92 bearing on the washer and the washer bearing on wall 84- of pocket 80.

Frame or body 94 of the hanger 75 is made with a pair of pockets 96 and 98 near opposite ends thereof. It is preferred that the frame 94 be made of an approximately rectangular block with pockets 96 and 98 cut therefrom, as by being milled out, each of the pockets 96 and 98 being rectangular or square. Accordingly, pocket 96 has sides 99, 100 and bottom 101. Pocket 98 has sides 102 and 103 together with bottom 104. The center of frame 94 has a threaded opening 106 in which the outer end of bolt 88 is threaded to assemble the door hanger 75. This means that the spring 92 will react and bear on the surface of the frame 94 adjacent to opening 106. Therefore, when assembled as shown in Figure 6, the frame and bolt 88 are capable of some rocking motion and a limited movement toward the door upper surface.

Pockets 96 and 98 accommodate bodies 110 and 112, respectively. The bodies are rectangular or ysquare solids and have threaded passageways 114 and 116, respectively, therein. Body has a pair of axles 118 and 120 protruding laterally therefrom on which the grooved wheels 122 and 124 are mounted for rotation. These wheels are tted with anti-friction bearings so that they may be made of a synthetic resinous material, for example, nylon and yet withstand the loads to which they are ordinarily subjected in door operation. The outer extremities of the axles may be peened over or otherwise fashioned to prevent the wheels 122 and 124 from being separated from the axles. Body 112 has axles 126 and 128 on which the wheels and 132 are mounted for rotation. The outer extremities of these axles are peened over or otherwise fashioned in order to hold the wheels in place. 'Ihese wheels are the same as the previously described wheels in their construction and operation. All of the wheels are preferably grooved in order to it over and on the beaded tracks that were described previously. Bodies 110 and 112 are fitted in the -pair of pockets 96 and 98 and are held in place by means of bolts 140 and 142 that pass through apertures in frame 94 and are threaded in the passageways 114 and 116. These passageways are of :the same diameter and have the same thread as bolt 88.

In assembling the device as shown in Figure ,6, the bodies 110 and 112 with their wheels on them, are fitted in the pockets 96 and 98. Bolts 140 and 142 are used to tighten the bodies in place. The bolt 88 is slid into the open end of the pocket 80 by having the shank placed in slot 90. When the head 89 is moved into the pocket far enough so that it drops into the recess 146 of the same shape as the head 89, the spring V92 causes the bolt to snap in place.

Attention is now invited to Figure 8. inasmuch as the bolt 88 will fit in opening 106 or either of the openings 114 and 116, the bodies 110 and 112 may be separately mounted. Design considerations, such as weight load, make it expedient to use either two or four wheels or use four wheels but space them, two wheels at one end of the door and two wheels at the other end of the door. Various combinations of wheels and pairs or groups of wheels may be arrived at in this way.

In Figure 8 there is a mounting plate 160 which is idenl tical in all respects to the mounting plate 76, together with a bolt 162 which is identical to bolt 88. This bolt is passed directly into one of the bodies 164, the latter being the same as either body 110 or body 112. Accord'- ingly, it supports a pair of wheels 166. Body 164 is loaded by spring 168 in a manner described previously in connection with spring 92. It is seen that Figure 8 represents a hanger or door which is made by omitting one of the bodies, a pair of wheels on the bodies and the frame 94. Then, bolt 88 is passed directly into the threaded passageway of the body.

In Figures 9 and 10 there is a further modification of the invention. This modification is shown operatively connected to a door 200 and an overhead frame or structural support 202, the latter corresponding to the structural supports 26, 28, 46 or 48. Track 204 is connected to structural support 202 and includes an upper plate 206 and a single side 208 which depends therefrom. Rail 2170 protrudes laterally from the lower edge of side `208 and has an upstanding rib 212 on which wheel 214 is adapted to ride.

Wheel 214 is mounted for rotation on wheel axle 216, the latter being carried by plate 218. This plate is adjustable on the upstanding plate 220 of the hanger, this 4 upstanding plate being at right angles to base plate 222. The base plate is adapted to be fixed to the door 200 while upstanding plate 220 is adapted to support adjustable plate 218 in a selected position. The adjustment is achieved by having a pair of screws 230 and 232 passed through angularly inclined slots 234 and 236, these slots being formed in upstanding plate 220 and the screws 230 and 232 being threaded in holes in adjustable plate 218.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

For use lin mounting a door in a track that has a pair of spaced rails, a door hanger comprising a support plate adapted to be secured to the top of the door, a pocket provided with a recess in said plate and having a bolt slot which opens therein, a bolt provided with a head which is fitted in the recess of said pocket, the shank of said bolt passing through said slot, a frame provided with a threaded opening in which the shank of said bolt is threaded, a spring on said bolt biasing said frame away from said plate to establish a yielding connection therebetween and to press said bolt head into said recess, a pair of pockets in said frame, a pair of wheel supporting bodies fitted in said pair of pockets, means fastening said pair of bodies in said pair of pockets, said fastening means including bolts and threaded passageways in Said bodies, said threaded passageways being of the same thread and diameter as the threaded opening in said frame so that the first-mentioned bolt may be selectively mounted directly therein.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 442,950 Bullard Dec. 16, 1890 460,501 Coburn et al Sept. 29, 1891 615,009 Bennett Nov. 29, 1898 1,058,513 Adams Apr. 8, 1913 1,429,383 Warner Sept. 19, 1922 2,293,841 Long Aug. 25, 1942 2,386,510 Shafer Oct. 9, 1945 2,664,598 Greig Jan.'5, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 164,750 Australia May 13, 1954 

